R V: The Second Generation
by shadowwriter13
Summary: The next generation of monsters are attending Yokai Academy. Will the next Akashiya girl be able to handle her own experiences and trials? See as the world of Rosario Vampire continues on. (Does not center on main characters from manga... You have been warned people.)
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: So I originally had this idea where some of the characters you are about to read about were used in a totally different way, back with the original Harem and Tsukune… HOWEVER, as I'm sure is no big secret, OC's get ripped to shreds here (by a select few more than others…). I can respect their arguments though, because God knows I won't be able to perfectly show the characters along side my OC's (it's just hard sometimes) so I decided to change things a bit, and I like this idea better than my previous one. That being said, know that the following story will not include the original harem. They will make their respective showings, but they aren't main characters. Before anyone throws their hands in the air, asking "God why is this in the R+V section then?", this will still be in the R+V world. You'll see it. Enjoy and review. Thanks. **

**R+V: The Second Generation**

Sakura Akashiya was brought back to reality as the bus lurched suddenly. The sudden movement caused by the pothole caused her to reopen her light green eyes. Scanning the bus again, Sakura was reminded that she was alone on this trip, minus the bus driver hunched over the steering wheel towards the front. He had not settled his slightly intimidating glowing eyes on her, but raised his hat from his head in greeting after she had gotten on, revealing hair similarly colored to the burning end of the cigar clenched tightly between his lips, and then proceeding to peel off before she had even found a seat. He had not seemed to move from the position he had been in Sakura had noticed in him before she had closed her eyes, but she imagined for a second that those glowing irises glanced at her quickly from the review mirror.

Ignoring the gooseflesh that inexplicably came with that thought, Sakura lightly brushed her waist length dark brown hair out of her eyes to scan the surrounding landscape and view the buses progress. She could hardly believe that they were well out of her hometown area and moving quickly down the highway; it had seemed that only a few minutes had passed by since she had gotten on.

She cast a wistful glance back down the highway, hugging her briefcase tightly to her body as she felt the phantom touch of the hard hug she had shared with her parents. Sakura had been sad to have to leave them…they loved her so much and she hadn't been sure how to fathom life without them. But at the same time she was excited.

She had really been looking forward to her first year at Yokai Academy; she was excited to attend the same school as her parents, to build the same kind of friendships her parents had, and to make memories as her parents had. Sakura couldn't help but smile to herself as she fiddles with the tattered bat keychain still attached to the old briefcase. It had been a gift from her mother, something she had used herself at school, and Sakura couldn't help but feel a rush of emotion with the thought of joining her parents old high school.

It was a strange emotion that teenagers rarely affiliated with school, but Sakura felt it none the less. Hope had taken hold of her and it made her whole body feel warm with the thought. That feeling of hope was joined with a slightly nauseous feeling of anxiety when the sun seemingly turned off as the bus rumbled into a tunnel. The tunnel seemed to radiate strange colors and Sakura found her eyes widening in amazement as it soaked it all in.

"What is this…" she breathed.

"I call it the highway to hell," the bus driver's voice floated from up front. His voice was low and gruff and it shocked Sakura enough that she physically flinched in her seat. The drivers glowing eyes were now totally fixed on Sakura and the girl felt like she was under a very powerful microscope.

"Wha…?"

"A highway to hell paved with the fourth dimension," the driver grinned back through the mirror. He must had finished his previous cigar at some point because he took both hands off the wheel to light another one, never dropping that grin that made Sakura's skin prickle. There was a beat of silence, the driver puffing out a substantial amount of smoke as he continued to blatantly study Sakura. "And our destination…"

The sun suddenly came back on the other side of the tunnel in true dramatic fashion and Sakura raised a hand to shield her eyes. When the sudden blinding was over, Sakura felt her heart flutter in her chest as she spotted the tall building, white walls and green tinted roof cresting over the dark tree line.

"Yokai Academy…"

Sakura rose quickly, still clutching her briefcase, and powerwalked in an unsuccessful attempt to contain her excitement. The twin bus doors squeaked open, and the first thing that really struck Sakura was the pungent aroma of salt weather and accompanying crashing waves on the cliff in front of her. The sun shone brightly on the deep blue water, and that back drop with the green grass bending in the breeze struck Sakura as one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen.

"It looks like someone needs a new head."

Sakura felt a chill run down her neck despite the pleasant summer sun shining down. She glanced back at the bus driver nervously, only to find that his gaze was not focused on her, but on something he found slightly humorous over her shoulder. Looking back to the scene in front of her, Sakura noticed what must have caught her driver's attention. A few meters away there was a wooden cross with a sign reading '_Yokai Private Academy'. _The tattered remains of a black uniform with gold trimming draped over the cross and there were the remains of what had once been a pumpkin. Most of it was a pulpy mess on the ground, leaving the scarecrow with a half-smile and no eyes.

"Yeah…," Sakura breathed nervously glancing back at the bus driver and seeing his eyes were locked back onto her.

"You take care of yourself little Miss Akashiya ," he growled, smoke rolling out of his mouth behind every word he spoke. "If you have the same luck as your parents, you're due for one _hell _of a school year…"

Sakura smiled nervously before quickly making her way down the stairs off the bus. The minute her feet touched grass the bus doors squeaked closed and the shuttle rumbled around back towards the tunnel.

_So strange… _She thought. She had been unsure about taking the bus; her mother had originally offered that she take her bike as she had, but her father insisted taking the bus was part of the experience. _ I wonder if that's the same bus driver my dad knew?_ She continued to watch it go until the tunnel had completely swallowed vehicle and then turned her eyes back to her awaiting academy.

The path between the black and gnarled trees to Yokai was decidedly creepy. Despite the sun shining brightly in the sky, the thick layer of overlapping branches made the sunshine appear spotty and dim. Overhead, crows would caw and suddenly take flight, making shadows flicker all around Sakura. The fair skin girl looked around nervously and quickened her pace; she kept her eyes peeled forward and praying the white walls of the academy would soon come into view.

Sakura paused for a moment as a noise reached her ears; it was a soft chime…like a bell? She cocked her ear up to try and hear better. There was another quiet sound, like something was shuffling around and moving the dirt.

"Watch out!"

Sakura was thrown to the ground as she was struck roughly from behind. She cried out in pain, and heard a similar yell of surprise from somewhere over her head as her face was shoved into the dirt. Sakura pulled herself up, gasping for air and saw a bike lying on its side, its rider crumpled close by.

"Oh! I'm so, so sorry, I didn't hear you back there!" Sakura gasped quickly, running over to the stirring figure. "Are you ok?"

The figure, whom Sakura could now see was a comely looking boy with bright red hair all a mess, rose on his own accord and brushed himself off. He ran his dark purple eyes from her face and down her body. A look of desire passed his face as he settled on her endowed chest, but his eyes hardened when he finally settled back on her face.

"I'm Sakura and-"

"Why don't you watch where you're going and not stand in the middle of the path?" the boy demanded harshly. He picked his bike up off the ground and sped away, turning his head back to shout, "Loser!"

Sakura held her previously outstretched hand to her chest and felt tears stinging at the corner of her eyes. She had been so concerned with the hope she had for the coming school year…she had totally forgotten about how scared she was. Scared that no one would accept her, no one would _want _to be her friend, and she would be forced to live her school life in sad loneliness. She sniffled and shuffled on down the path, not near as concerned with the frightening forest now that the weight of her first miserable interaction with someone else rested heavy on her shoulders.

_I really want to make a friend…_she lamented, her mind playing over ever terrible scenario that could happen when she tried to talk to people.

She felt this depressed state until she got to the front gate of Yokai academy, and any mourning feeling was changed to shock. Sakura could barely believe how many people were walking around the open courtyard in front of Yokai Academy. The class body was a sea of green jackets and bright white blouses. Sakura saw many girls dressed similarly to her; the school's standard red tie with white long sleeve button up shirts and brown plaid skirts. Sakura personally wore her socks knee high, and the style amongst the crowd varied.

_I'll certainly be able to find a friend somewhere in this great group _Sakura thought positively, allowing a beaming smile to take over her face. Her mood couldn't even change when she noticed some of the looks she received from the surrounding teens; boys glanced at her and then suddenly became slack jawed and drooling while girls seemed to leer from behind their bangs before turning back to their groups and whispering furiously. Sakura would never have admitted to being a beauty, but the incoming first year class to Yokai Academy could see it.

"First year students, continue to file to plaza located on your right!" Groups of clearly older students were dotted throughout the younger crowd and directing traffic. One particular, a girl with light brown hair and stunning blue eyes, saw Sakura's nervous face and addressed her directly with a kind smile.

"The headmistress would like to address all the new students personally for the introductory ceremony," she explained. "Just keep following the crowd… The introductions will be starting soon!"

"Thanks!" smiled Sakura.

"Hey you two creeps you're not first year students! Get back to your assigned classrooms before we have to drag you there by your ears!" the older student turned away, addressing two boys trying unsuccessfully to blend in with the younger crowd.

Sakura watched them slink away apprehensively, but continued to follow the stream of people that were making their way to the make shift ceremony area. She had not expected to get so caught in the flow she would be thrust into the middle of the slowly increasing number of prospective students gathering around, but Sakura soon found herself surrounded on all sides by tall, wide shouldered boys who squished her together uncomfortably. She shifted around, unsuccessfully trying to make room for herself.

"Excuse me…."

It was worthless though as the crowd suddenly cheered in excitement. Sakura swiveled her head around quickly, trying to locate the source of the excitement and quickly caught on; the pair of double glass plated doors behind the balcony overhead had opened up, and a tall thin figure had stepped out.

Sakura found she was unable to really recognize the figure, though she could see long flowing black hair and a white dress as well as…were those dark shapes outstretched raven's wings? Whispers around Sakura confirmed that this was the headmistress and she found her mouth opening slowly in awe.

The headmistress spread her arms out, calling for silence and the crowds excitement decreased to a dull roar.

"New students of Yokai Academy," she called out in a strong, commanding voice. "Welcome to your school! I trust that we will have three wonderful years here as you grow and learn to be the best possible monsters this world can use!"

There was a collective murmur in response, a couple people discussing just how good of _monsters_ they'd really be.

"We are most excited to welcome you here. However, with this welcome come warnings. There are rules at this academy, and since we are doing are best to insure you can successfully reside in the human world, it is most important that you follow these rules." The figure of the headmistress placed her hands on the banister, leaning over and fully spreading her four black raven wings. "You will live the entirety of your time on this campus in your human form, save for _extreme_ emergencies. You are to appear to be human and never reveal your monster form to others. This is our most important rule. And I stress the word important students."

The murmur that had been present in the crowd had completely died down. Sakura thought her beating hear must surely be echoing in this vacuum.

"The rest of the rules will be clearly explained by your homeroom teachers when you go and meet them now." The headmistress retuned to fully standing and allowed her wings to fold behind her. Her head moved as she surveyed the group below her again. "Consider this your official introduction! You are now all officially first year Yokai Academy students!"

There was an explosion of cheers as the group of students let their elation burst forth. Most all students threw their hands in the air and Sakura felt herself thrown off balance by the rough and sudden movements of those around her. She teetered dangerously forward, before she was shoved back and she felt her feet slide out from under her and she tumbled backward.

"Whoa there," chuckled a kind voice somewhere above Sakura's head. She felt strong arms grab her gently under her arms before she could hit the ground. Looking up she was momentarily blinded from seeing her savior's face by the sun. The stranger lifted her gingerly and Sakura turned quickly with a large smile.

"Thank you so much! It's so wild in here; I thought I'd get trampled for sure!"

"Don't mention it," the boy smiled, scratching the back of his head with an abashed smile. Sakura could now get a good look at him, and she found herself blushing and smitten. This boy had a cute smile that just looked natural; it went well with his dark brown hair, combed down save for his bangs which spiked up out of his face, and equally dark eyes. He was about half a head taller than Sakura and built slim but wide shouldered. The boy was dressed in the typical Yokai uniform, white shirt, red tie, green jacket, and khaki slacks with smart brown shoes.

The two stood there for a minute, Sakura smiling shyly and the boy smiling dumbly, before he whipped his hand out from behind his head and extended it.

"My name is Akita! Akita Aconite."

"I'm Sakura Akashiya," Sakura answered brightly, grabbing Akita's hand with both of hers. His grip was gentle, something she was not expecting from a boy; however, she found her smile growing as she looked at him blush slightly. He was pleasant and she felt a quick trust building.

"Nice to meet you, Sakura," Akita grinned. _She's so beautiful, _he thought. _How lucky am I for someone like her to just…fall into my lap! _There was another beat of time as Sakura and Akita continued to stare at each other, oblivious to the jubilation of their peers surrounding them. But this was broken as a yell came from the front of the group, 'C'mon to your classrooms!', and the crowd surged forward.

Sakura quickly opened her case to pull out the small schedule slip that had been mailed to her with the rest of the introductory packet.

"So where are you-," her question was cut off as she was caught in the flow of stampeding students and sucked into the entrance hallway to Yokai academy. As she was shoved back she saw Akita still standing there, looking around as if he was trying to find something or someone. He finally noticed that Sakura was not in front of him and made eye contact with her before the sea of students in-between them obscured her from his view. Maybe it was just foolish hope, but Sakura felt a jolt in her stomach when she thought he looked disappointed.

Finally the crowd dispersed enough that Sakura could stop and take in the amazing sight that was the inside of Yokai Academy. The hallway was lined with floor to ceiling large gothic windows, and the wood on the staircase that split two ways leading up to the upper levels gleamed in the light; cute little signs adorned with room numbers and mascots hung over doors that seemed to stretch farther than Sakura's eyes could see. Everything, even the bathrooms and her locker, were exactly like the stories she had heard about from her parents for years and Sakura could do nothing about the over the top grin she had simply by looking around.

However, this was not to last, as Sakura found herself inexplicably lost with only a few moments until she was supposed to be in her homeroom. She had felt like she had searched high and low down the endless hallways trying to find room 193, and she was become more flustered by the second. How was it every girl she tried to get directions from had no idea where to go?

"Great," she sobbed to herself, leaning against the banister in defeat. "My first day and I can't even find my class…"

"Sakura?" The girl whipped around in surprise, barely recognizing the voice. A few feet away stood Akita, his hand clutching the strap to the black case around his shoulder and a concerned smile on his face. "What are you doing up here all by yourself?"

"Oh I'm so glad I got to see you again," Sakura said, elated. She ceased her crying and quickly jumped next to this one familiar face she knew. "I was worried that I wasn't going to catch up to you again and you were the first friend I made all day.."

"We're friends?" Akita went red but smiled all the same. _I can't believe my good luck! _he thought.

"Oh I guess that was me presuming a bit wasn't it…" Sakura said, deflating.

"No! No, no, no," assured Akita, holding his hand up. "I'd love to be friends! You'd be the first friend I would make at this school too so… I think that would be awesome."

"Super!" Sakura jumped up and wrapped Akita in a big hug around the neck. The boy felt the blush in his face deepening, and Sakura quickly let go, her own face red. "I… I don't suppose you could help me find my homeroom could you?" she asked, toeing at the carpet.

"Where are you headed?" Akita asked looking at Sakura's schedule. "Oh you're in room 193 also? That's awesome, that's my homeroom too!" The two new friends grinned at their good fortune. "You weren't too far off though, I know where the rooms at. Just a couple doors farther down the hall." The duo walked down the hallway side by side.

"So… Are you excited to be at Yokai academy?" Akita asked.

"Yeah, I truly am!" Sakura beamed, placing some loose strands of hair behind her hair shyly. "My parents would always tell me so many stories about the academy... I couldn't wait to be here and make my own memories and great friends!"

"Well Sakura-san," Akita smiled kindly, opening the door to room 193, "I hope meeting me has started has started you out on that path."

_I truly think it has _Sakura thought brightly, smiling with giddy excitement. She entered the class, the chatter dying down as students idly glanced at the opening door to view the newcomers. The young men in the room goggled and went slack jawed, their whispers of "Woah!" and "She's so frickin' hot!" sailing right over Sakura's head. However, Akita's soft baritone growl behind her did not.

"Are you ok?" she cast a quizzical glance back to her companion. Akita was glaring daggers out his brown eyes at a group of particularly foul group of four sleazy boys leering at Sakura.

"Oh yeah, haha," Akita laughed, quickly averting his gaze and smiling again. "It's nothing." Sakura shrugged and flattened her skirt under her as she slid into her seat at her desk, next to the window and towards the front. Akita took his seat as well, and smiled as Sakura turned to face him, the two holding a gaze for just a minute…

"So you're a lizard person?" a male student sitting next to the two awed. "That's so awesome!" His companion flicked a forked tongue out and winked at Sakura's startled look.

"I thought we weren't supposed to reveal our monster forms," Sakura whispered nervously, peering around the room as it was clear that was the hot topic of the homeroom.

"Guess no one's much for following the rules," Akita said, grinning. "What about you, Sakura? What kind of monster are you? I'll tell you if you tell me right?"

"We're not supposed to tell, it's against the rules," Sakura teased, sticking her tongue out at Akita. He laughed and held up his hands in defeat. It was good timing too, because it was then that a wooden ruler came down in the head of the lizard boy; his tongue had still been out of his mouth and he slumped in his chair with glazed eyes and his tongue lulling about.

"Now, now, students, there is no revealing are monster forms remember! Unless it's an emergency ~meow," the cheery voiced, gray haired teacher said, wagging her ruler at the class. Behind her, a frayed, gray tail swished behind her.

"But sensei, what about your-" the lizard boy's companion was cut off by another whack from the teachers ruler.

"Now boys and girl, I am Ms. Nekonome," she continued on just a cheery voiced, flipping her gray ponytail behind her. Her hair bounced at an odd angle, giving her the appearance of having flattened cat ears with her pony tail; her skirt navy blue skirt swished back and forth just above her knees and her short sleeve shirt was almost too white as she spun around at the front of the classroom to face the students. "I've been doing this thing for quite a while, so don't think you'll get anything past me! Now why don't we go around the room and introduce ourselves and get ready for a fabulous school year ~meow!"

The class did that, going around and saying a couple words in varying degrees of interest, ranging from deathly bored to eerily peppy. A trio of girls in the very middle of the class room introduced themselves in the same flippant valley-girl voice that made Sakura's skin crawl and most the boys gape. However, it was at Sakura's name that Ms. Nekonome paused at.

"Ms. Akashiya…" she said, her gray ears twitching under her hair. "Well this is a great surprise!" she positively beamed from the front of the room, her tail swishing behind her again. "I absolutely adore your parents; they were by far my favorite students and now I can't believe I have you! Fantastic ~meow!"

Sakura turned red but smiled appreciatively as the class looked at her with interest. "Oh look, already a teacher's pet," one of the valley girls with dark purple hair and cruel blue eyes hissed, getting a cackle from her two friends. Sakura felt her sprits falter slightly, until she felt a strong squeeze on her shoulder and saw Akita smiling kindly at her.

"That's pretty cool," he whispered a-matter-of-factly.

"Thanks," Sakura smiled softly. The rest of the class passed without incident, Ms. Nekonome, reluctant to dive into any school work, filled the rest of the class with stories about fish and the fun of the upcoming year.

From there, Sakura and Akita said reluctant goodbyes, having to separate to different classes. Sakura however, found she was unable to truly concentrate. The fact that she had made such a good friend, and with such ease and so rapidly, had elated her to a state of abstraction; chemistry barely registered with her, and it was lucky cooking class was a lot of making sure people knew how to boil water.

By the time lunch came around, Sakura was back to her mindset of before she had met Akita. What if she couldn't find anyone to sit with? Would she be alone? Would the people at other tables laugh at her? She took her salad lunch and can of tomato juice from the line and surveyed the mess hall with worried eyes. She was quickly relieved to see a hand wave in the air, following it to see Akita at a small round table, already happily munching away.

"Hey there, Akita!" Sakura gleamed.

"Sakura, hi-" he smiled. He paused, as though struck with a profound thought. His eye's wide and locked on Sakura.

"What's the matter?" Sakura blushed.

"Oh…sorry, it's nothing!" Akita recovered, waving his hands nervously. "It's just the sun behind you…" _You're beautiful! _But he kept that last part to himself.

"Oh, sorry, I'll get out of the way," Sakura smiled and sat right next to Akita. The two smiled at each other and shared their thoughts of the beginning of the first day.

Their conversation continued as they finished the day together in math, English, and gym. They were attached at the hips, enjoying every minute of each other's company as the school day dwindled down.

Before they knew it, they were walking down the path past the headstones and approaching the dorm rooms.

"Listen, Sakura, I had a great day getting to know you," Akita smiled. "I'm glad you got to be my first friend here."

"I couldn't have asked for it better friend!" Sakura beamed. She threw herself at Akita, wrapping him in another bear hug; this time, Akita returned the hug with both arms. Sakura realized that Akita had a pleasant smell about him, a deep musky smell that just her feel good. She licked her lips and breathed in deeply, before she caught herself and scolded her weak will. She wanted to actually _keep _this friend. The two separated and Sakura gave him another big smile.

"Well… I'll see you tomorrow Akita!" she said happily, trotting to the girls dorms with a final wave.

Akita returned the wave with a bemused expression on his face. _This is nuts... this is only day one! _But he decided, he was just fine with that. It could only get better right?

Sakura barely noticed her room, or her belongings that had been mailed and delivered from her house via her parents. She was just suddenly aware how tired she was from the day's events. The combination of stress and jubilation had drained her. She rummaged through her things just enough to pull out her pink sheets and make her bed.

There she collapsed with a pleased sigh, and rested with peaceful dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When Sakura's eyelids peeled lazily back from her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the soft sparkle of the dawning sun. Her excitement from yesterday had sent her to bed rather early that night, and now she found herself with too much energy too early in the morning. With the realization that she would not be falling back asleep, Sakura tossed her legs over the edge of her bed and felt the cool wooden floor under her feet. Her eyes went back and forth around her room, taking in the modest size and the plainness of it all. She decided she definitely liked it.

_"We could talk to the school and arrange for you to have a proper sized room; I'm sure they would understand. You are a powerful and prestigious vampire after all."_

_ "No mom! I don't want any special treatment! I'd like to be able to just go to this school and enjoy it for being me!" Her mother arched an eyebrow over her red, catlike eyes, but honored the request. _

Sakura knew her mother had just been trying to make sure her daughter was treated right; however, now that she was actually here, Sakura knew she had made the right choice. She could tell she'd love this room.

With the extra early morning time, Sakura began to unpack in earnest. Pots and pans were put in the tiny kitchen cabinets, posters were hung on the wall, and a vase full of flowers sent by her father sat center on her desk. The final piece of decoration was a silver picture frame; the picture showed a man with shaggy brown hair and a wide smile, his arm placed lightly over the shoulder of a woman in a streaming white dress with flowing waist length pink hair, a bright silver cross connected to a jet black choker around her neck, and a longing look in her bright green eyes as she gazed at the man. A smaller, but no less important, picture shared the same frame. It showed a silver haired, red-eyed woman in the same white dress, her red eyes wide with intent, and the same young man smiling more sheepishly than before, clutching the silver cross in his left hand while his other harm still grasped the woman tightly.

Sakura loved these pictures of her parents; it showed just how happy they had been, even at that young age, and it awed her that they were still that happy seventeen years later. They had everything that Sakura wanted in her future, and reminding herself that she was back where it all started sent tingles down her spine. With renewed vigor, she continued spinning around the room, making it hers.

The excitement and activity made the early morning pass quickly, and before she knew it, it was time to gather her bag and rush out the door.

_I hope I run into Akita-kun this morning! _Sakura thought happily, already imagining the day ahead. She'd hug him again; she had already decided that; there was something just comforting about the feel of her arms around Akita, and him hugging her back. She felt the phantom warmth of his arms squeezing her tight and smiled to herself.

"What are you smiling about, princess?" came a shrill voice down the hallway. Sakura snapped out of her trance and noticed the three high class clique girls from her homeroom. The tallest girl, with the purple hair and sharp blue eyes stood center and was giving Sakura a haughty look, while her friends, each twirling their brown hair between their fingers, giggled with equally contempt looks from their brown eyes.

Sakura ignored their comments, but lowered her head and clutched her back tightly to her chest in sadness. _Guess everything can't be perfect _Sakura thought dejectedly.

"Try not to look like such a loser today!" the leader called again to another round of giggles aimed at Sakura's retreating back.

"I won't let them ruin my second special day here," Sakura said aloud as she threw open the door to the beautiful spring morning; the sun had risen fully now, and the sunshine hitting the dew made the tree tops twinkle. The air was crisp outside, cool but not uncomfortably so as Sakura made sure the sleeves of her white blouse were pulled down, and a deep breath of it made her eyes widen as she was fully woken up. "Today is going to be a good day!"

With that mindset in place, Sakura made her way down the path toward Yokai academy with renewed pep in her walk. The increased bounce in her step made for some interesting looks from some of the males on the path, their eyes shamelessly and hungrily devouring the sight for later reflection, but Sakura had no thoughts for them. She was too busy contemplating the day with her new special friend Akita.

Speaking of her new comrade, Sakura noticed Akita standing at the gate of Yokai Academy immediately as she turned the corner. His back was to her, but she could easily recognize his light brown hair and stature. He was surrounded by a small group of guys; however, they had strange looks on their faces. They seemed rather uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to another and looking everywhere but directly at him. _That's a little strange… _Sakura thought. She stopped a few feet away and surveyed the group of guys for a few extra seconds, a thoughtful finger placed on her chin.

Akita laughed haughtily at something he had said and pushed one of the boys roughly. A couple of them chuckled in response, but the shiftiness among them didn't dissipate. _Maybe friendship is just different around boys… _Sakura decided. She distinctly remembered watching other kids play on her neighborhood street and in her grandfather castle, and the boys were always a little different among themselves than when ladies were around.

Satisfied with her reasoning, Sakura stepped forward to join Akita and his small group.

"Good morning!" Sakura said, smiling brightly as she drew even with her friend. "Did you sleep well your first night?"

Akita glanced at her quizzically; an eyebrow rose over one of his deep brown eyes. His hair was still combed in the same way, no hair out of place besides his spiked up bangs, and his mouth was set in a hard line. Sakura felt herself taken aback by the harsh look and unconsciously took a step back. The guys that had been hanging around took the moment of distraction to disperse quickly without a backwards glance.

"Punks," Akita growled. He flexed his free hand and held his bag over his shoulder, still casting calculating glares at the back of the boys. "You should know better than to interrupt."

Sakura was shocked into silence; she felt her mouth drop open and a small shiver go through her body. _Why is he talking like this? He was nothing like this yesterday… _she thought desperately, trying to get her mouth to work.

"Just who are you coming up and talking to me like that?" Akita demanded, turning to face Sakura head on. He had a very contempt look on his face, his grin not reaching his eyes in the slightest. The look on his face reminded Sakura of looks she had seen of people when they smelled something rather disgusting and were repulsed.

"But I…"

"Oh don't tell me," Akita cut her off, wagging his finger in Sakura's face. "You think you're rather important don't you? Are you one of those high-class imperial monsters? You think you can just walk up and talk to whoever you feel like demanding attention from? Huh?" He took an aggressive step towards her, and Sakura took another tentative step back. "Psh… Can't even answer me can you…?" Akita steeped back from his previous aggressive stance and let a cold grin replace his previous look of disgust. "Pathetic, you are."

"But…" Sakura said airily, tears welling up in her bright green eyes. "I thought… I thought we were friends." She clasped her bag tightly to her chest as she said this, trying to find some form of security. This was most definitely not how she had imagined the morning gong.

Akita laughed callously, throwing his head to the sky and getting a couple strange glances from passing schoolmates; some cast knowing glances at the scene, pity in their eyes that the poor cute new girl had to deal with this miscreant. "Friends? You are a very strange girl…," Akita got close to Sakura and put his finger under chin. Sakura wanted to turn her head away but his grip was surprisingly strong. "I don't quite know why we would be friends… Though I can't lie, there are plenty of _play dates _I could plan for us." He laughed softly and Sakura heard a low rumble reverberate in the air with it and a longing look enter his eyes.

Sakura did pull back from him at that. "You jerk!" she sobbed, staring angrily at the ground. Her arms were locked at her side and shook in rage. "And here I thought we could be great friends… You are truly a terrible person and I wish we had never met!"

"It's no bother of mine," Akita said flicking his hand up his bangs to insure they stayed in place. "Go bother someone else then you silly girl." And he then promptly turned and began walking away.

Sakura was openly sobbing now and ran as fast as she could inside the academy walls; groups of students muttered as she ran past, with questions, pity, and some with lust, however, Sakura didn't stop until she was safely shut away in the girls bathroom.

_I can't believe Akita was such a jerk to me! _She thought, sniffling into a tissue at the sinks. _He was so nice yesterday… _In her mind's eye she could still see Akita standing there before they had run off to their separate dorms, a kind smile on his face and a firm hug waiting when she had thrown herself at him. _I didn't even feel this bad when the human kids on the street made fun of me… _Sakura thought in her misery, holding herself tightly for support.

She desperately didn't want to go to class. She knew that Akita would be there, leaning in his chair and probably sporting that same high and mighty look; he would look at her with the same apathetic eyes and cold grin he had worn outside and watch her squirm. Sakura didn't want to look at him again, but eventually came to the conclusion that she had to attend homeroom.

"I will not let him ruin my time at this school!" Sakura said forcefully to her reflection. She grabbed a few extra tissues and cleaned the signs of tears from her eyes and then worked on her stern face in the mirror. She recalled her mother's talks about being a proud race; Sakura had been born with immense power and needed to carry herself like she deserved respect. Not to be arrogant, but to be confident in herself. "I will not show him I am upset…" she stated firmly. Nodding to herself, she slung her bag over her shoulder and marched to her homeroom with her head held high.

As she opened the door, her eyes naturally snapped to her seat across the room; as expected, Akita was already sitting there. He didn't have the egotistical grin on his face from this morning, instead his brown eyes were scrunched in concentration as he read over a small stack of pamphlets; the other students in the room were looking over similar sheets.

"Ah, hello Sakura-san," Akita said as she approached her desk. He looked up from his collection of papers to smile warmly at him. "Did you sleep well?"

Sakura almost answered him simply out of shock; what was he doing acting nice again? He had spent all morning insulting her and now said hello and asked how her night had been with a warm smile on his face? Sakura didn't answer though, instead crossing her arms and looking away darkly.

"Sakura?" Akita asked, concern in his voice; he turned fully in his seat so he could fully face the angry girl. "Is something the matter?" Sakura continued to ignore him, looking out the window with her nose upturned. "I… I looked for you today before class but I…" Akita tried again, his voice faltering.

"I thought I made it clear that I never wanted to speak to you again," Sakura sniffed, still refusing to make eye contact with the boy.

"What?" Akita demanded, leaning to try and catch Sakura's bright green eyes; the dejected vampire was having none of it though, continuing to glare out the window. "B-but… Why would you never want to speak to me again? I thought we were going to be such good friends…?"

"Well, I think you made it clear that you had no interest in being my friend," Sakura said coldly, finally locking her deadpan stare onto Akita's confused glance.

There was a beat of silence between the two. "Are…are you playing a joke on me?" Akita asked, his voice sounding very desperate. "Because if you are, you definitely got me, and you can stop now. We have to think about joining clubs soon, and I was hoping you'd seriously like to join one with me…"

"Why would you want to do that?" Sakura continued her aloof responses, but inside she was in turmoil. _Why in the world is he acting so different in class? _She thought desperately. _It's almost like this morning didn't even happen… _

"Is… Is something wrong Sakura?" Akita floundered. His shoulders were slumped and his face had a look of rather pitiful defeat. Sakura almost gave up the act and wanted to give him a hug again; he looked so genuinely lost that she was starting to feel _guilty_! But the replay of this morning's events rolled through her mind again and she crossed her arms defiantly.

"Just turn around and leave me alone Akita," Sakura huffed. "That's what you really wanted anyway isn't it? Or do you want to keep looking at me for you sick mental pleasure…"

"WWHAAA?" Akita almost fell out of his chair.

"Now class let's begin today lesson and stay on the right path for a successful school year!" Ms. Nekonome was suddenly at the front of the class, all energy and ready to start the morning lesson.

"Sakura what did you mean by-?"

"Pay attention back there," Ms. Nekonome warned from the front of the room, waving her ruler back and forth at Akita. "Just because this is a school for monsters does not mean you guys have an easier schedule. This academy has the highest standards for grades, just like in the human world, so you'll need to stay on top of things." This got a couple groans from the class, and Akita reluctantly turned to face the front.

Sakura took notes the entire class, but Ms. Nekonome's words did not penetrate her thoughts; she kept going back to Akita, upset that his friend had abandoned him, with slumped shoulders and a hanging head. After the lecture had concluded, Akita attempted to turn around and demand answers from Sakura about why she was angry, but the brown haired girl had gathered her things as fast as possible and power walked from the classroom.

In the chemistry room now, Sakura let her guard down and slumped in her stool, the weight of the morning continuing to wear her down.

"Hey are you alright?" a voice came from beside her. Sakura looked over quickly to see a young man taking the seat next to her. He looked to be about Sakura's stature, with buzz cut raven black hair, and a striking set of bright blue eyes and the standard Yokai academy men's uniform. He was regarding her kindly and Sakura managed a small smile.

"It's just been a very bad morning," she responded in a pseudo-bright tone. "I'll be alright."

"Well if you ever need any help with anything, just let me know ok?" the boy smiled, extending his hand out. "I'm your lab partner for the semester so I'm sure I'll get to know you well. My name is Makota Yoichi."

"Sakura Akashiya."

She took his hand with a smile and found was very soft. "You have nice hands!"

"Oh… Well, thank you," Makota grinned sheepishly.

"Settle down class," the chemistry teacher walked into the room, setting his briefcase down gingerly. "In case you have forgotten you in chemistry with me, Mr. Aku Hasumi," he adjusted his glasses and smoothed his white shirt, buttoned up besides the top three. "So, let's get into it immediately then."

The rest of the class was spent much like the homeroom lesson; Sakura took notes but had no attention for what the teacher was saying, and Makota, despite trying to start conversation while conducting the student trial, fared no better. Cooking class was equally dismal, day two causing her to burn herself when she was actually tasked with baking something. Sakura wasn't a bad cook, but she was used to her mother's calm guiding hand ensuring everything went off smoothly, and Sakura's distracted mind did nothing to help with the disparity now that she didn't have her mother's help.

As that class ended Sakura began making her way to the lunch hall, she had decided she would give Akita a chance to explain. Maybe…just perhaps…he could have a good explanation for what had happened this morning. As on cue, Sakura caught sight of the top of Akita's head poking its way through the crowd and back up the stairs. Akita quickly came into view after that and Sakura opened her mouth to get his attention. However, before she could say anything, Akita caught of her; he locked that cold glare on her and licked his lips vulgarly and making bite marks at the air in her direction.

Sakura felt the air leave her lungs and a renewed wave of fury. With an 'hmpf' and a stomp of her foot, Sakura stormed down the stairs, past the lunchroom, and outside into the midday weather. The young girl was furious with herself; how had she almost been so stupid? Sakura paced back and forth under the shade of an awning covered path muttering to herself how miserable her luck was and how big of a mistake she could have almost made.

"Sakura?"

She stopped in mid pace and realized Makota was sitting against the wall and enjoying the shade of the awning himself. He had seen her round the corner, steaming mad, and pace and talk to herself for the past couple minutes; his eyebrows were raised wide and Sakura could see the word 'crazy' slowly being displayed across her forehead.

"Hey Makota… Sorry to bother you, I was just…"

"Is your rough morning carrying over into the afternoon?" Makota asked. Sakura nodded glumly and sat down next to Makota.

"I was hoping making friends at this school would be easy but…" the girl brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up at the clear blue sky. "It's a little more difficult than I would've hoped."

"I know what you mean," Makota nodded, munching absentmindedly on a hamburger.

"I'm sorry, you don't want to listen to me go on about my problems…"

"No don't worry about it actually," he said quickly, his bright blue eyes disappearing in a wide smile. "I enjoy listening to you talk. As a matter of fact, I'll show you that it's not always so hard. Would you like to be my friend Sakura-san?" The young man offered Sakura his hand, much like he just had during class, and Sakura took it again with a smile.

"Alright; well at least I'll have you as a friend Makota-san." Makota seemed rather pleased with that statement and continued munching away at his food.

"So, what is it that has been bothering you so bad today?" he asked after a few moments.

"This jerk…," Sakura mumbled. "He acted real nice and like he wanted to be my friend yesterday. But today he's been very rude and very…indecent to me."

"Just ignore him," Makota offered. "Jerk's like that can't really be beat. They just have to realize they aren't wanted and then they move on." Sakura pondered this for a moment before her alarm went off and she realized that she was going to be late for class if she stayed out here any longer.

"I've got to get to my next class! See you later Makota-san!" Her chemistry partner waived goodbye as Sakura disappeared around the corner and out of site.

Sakura took Makota's suggestion to heart, and for the next three hours the young vampire remained completely oblivious to everything Akita did in the last three classes they shared. She was deaf to his questions and helpful tips during their math worksheet, his compliments on her poem in English did not register with her, and she refused to acknowledge him in the friendly soccer match the boys and girls played in during P.E.

By the time the end of the day had come, Sakura was feeling rather pleased with herself. She had managed to not give into Akita at all and had prevented any further heartache from his wishy-washy attitude. She walked down the path to the dorms alone with her head held high when she heard a familiar voice that had been haunting her for most of the day.

"Sakura wait up please!" Akita's voice came from behind her. Sakura made no effort to slow, instead seemingly quickening her pace. "Sakura! We need to talk really quick."

"I have nothing to say to you," Sakura leered. Akita cut her path off and Sakura stepped back in surprise. When he had called he had sounded pretty far back, and she hadn't heard him run up the rocks.

"Can you please at least tell me what I did?" Akita begged as Sakura pushed past him to continue walking. "Because I was hoping that we would be on our way to becoming great friends but now…"

"It was you who decided we shouldn't be friends Akita…"

"What are you talking about?" Akita demanded, jogging to keep up with Sakura's quickening pace. "I have never said anything like that!"

"You made it very clear this morning in the courtyard that you didn't want anything to do with me unless it had to do with one of your," Sakura reddened and shivered, "bodily desires."

"W-what… What are you talking about?" demanded Akita, his face had reddened considerably but he looked completely befuddled. "What happened in the courtyard?"

"I went to try and talk to you and you were very rude to me in front of everyone you big jerk!" Sakura finally exploded, rounding quickly on Akita.

"But Sakura… I didn't see you until homeroom and I… I…" Akita's voice trailed off. His face morphed from one of complete and helpless confusion to one of worry and understanding. "Oh no… I know what happened…."

"What are you talking about now?" Sakura asked, curious about the sudden change in attitude.

"Sakura you have to understand that wasn't me this morning in the courtyard," Akita said, grabbing her tightly by the shoulders. "I couldn't think of a better friend for me, and of course I'll always want to be your friend. I could never say I don't want to be your friend!" Akita smiled warmly at the young green eyed girl and the latter felt a familiar feeling of warmth flow through her, one she hadn't felt sense running into Akita in the morning before he had insulted her.

"Then why this morning… And later that afternoon…" Sakura spluttered.

"That wasn't me, Sakura! Honest, I swear that is the truth. That was-"

"There you are…" came a familiar voice farther up the path from the two companions. "I was wondering when you'd show up on this path."

Sakura looked up the path and felt her jaw drop from the shock. It was the strangest thing, but just up the road stood Akita, dressed in the same standard pristine uniform, with the same spiked bangs hairstyle and same dark chocolate brown eyes. She looked to her left, just to verify that the Akita next to her hadn't moved anywhere when she had looked away.

He hadn't, and was still standing there, though now with one foot in front of Sakura. He looked worried and was unable to keep his eyes completely locked on the doppelgänger up the road. Sakura glanced back and forth between the two one more time, amazed by how it was like looking in a mirror. Then the boy from up the road, observing the two friends with cold eyes spoke again:

"Hello, brother."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The silence between the three teens seemed to stretch on for hours. Sakura felt her eyes were on a swivel, pausing for just a second on the Akita standing ever so slightly in front of her, snapping to the twin up the road, observing the two of them like one would a bug, and then glancing back again.

"How has school been?" the Akita copy up the road asked, leaning against a nearby tree. His stance had changed from predatory to apathetic in the blink of an eye; he was now busy scrutinizing his fingernails. "Hope your first couple days have been easy and fun. I wouldn't know since I haven't gotten to see you since classes actually started, you disappeared on me." The twin glanced up at that to give Akita a sarcastic pouty look.

"Akita," Sakura muttered, finally finding her voice after the shock of seeing two of him, "what is going on?"

"Sakura...," Akita said slowly, glancing back at Sakura in what was supposed to be a reassuring manner; however, it was anything but as his face was still scrunched in a way that made it seem he was trying to find a way to talk his way out of a problem. "That wasn't me you talked to this morning. That was my twin," he motioned to the boy leaning against the tree. "Meet my brother, Kai."

Kai winked at her from his post, and Sakura felt a flash of anger bubble up under her initial surprise. "I didn't know you had a brother," she huffed, crossing her arms and leering at Kai.

"I hadn't gotten a chance to mention it yet," Akita grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets and going a little red around the ears. He turned to face his brother, who was now slowly ambling towards the other two.

"Akita! I'm hurt…" Kai held a hand to his heart for emphasis, going weak in the knees for a couple steps. "You never mentioned me to your first conquest at this school? What ever happened to sibling love…?"

"She's not a conquest," Akita said in a low voice, his gaze flicking from Sakura and back. Sakura felt heat building up in her face but she held her stern gaze with Kai.

"She isn't?" Kai acted flabbergasted. "Why then would you lower yourself to being her escort? Especially you aren't going to get," Kai winked knowingly at his brother, "_at_ anything little brother." Sakura had never felt her skin crawl before, but Kai's words along with his suggestive look made gooseflesh creep up and down her back.

"Kai…," Akita murmured, holding a hand up to his brother. Kai kept walking forward, allowing Akita's hand to push against his chest; it was the only thing putting space between Kai and Sakura now. Kai leaned in a bit, his intense gaze only a foot away from Sakura's glare.

"She really is pretty though, Akita," Kai said, his voice growing colder. Akita seemed a little taken aback by the compliment to Sakura and his stiff arm loosened. Kai capitalized on the confusion and stepped past Akita, inches from Sakura now. "Wonder what's up under here…?" Faster than anyone could respond, Kai flicked Sakura's skirt up. There was a flash of bright red from below before Sakura could push the plaid skirt back down with a squeal.

Akita almost fell over from the shock of seeing that and had to stick a hand out and grab his brother's shoulder to stay upright. "What the hell are you doing, Kai?" he demanded, using the back of his sleeve to wipe his nose.

"Nothing you don't want to do Akita," Kai grinned, holding his hands up in a mock surrender gesture.

"That-…Whatareyou….No!" Akita spluttered in response.

"You big jerk!" Sakura yelled, stomping her foot and glaring daggers at Kai. "I should've known that could not have been Akita who was mean to me today. He's much nicer…and not some nasty pervert!"

"I wouldn't count on that sweetie," Kai said with a gleam in his eye. "We are twins after all. Perfect copies and all that…"

"He's nothing like you, I can tell already," Sakura said assuredly. "He's been sweet and kind to me since I got here, and he was even nice to me when I was being awful to him for no reason…" She gave Akita an apologetic look while the later looked a little stunned. "He's much better than you are, _Kai_, and I'm glad he is my friend!" Beside her, Akita puffed out his chest proudly.

"Oh dear," Kai rolled his eyes, "an idealist. Akita, your friend is going to undo all the hard work I've been trying to do before we came to this stick in the mud academy."

"What were you trying to do to Akita?" Sakura demanded.

"Teach him to have fun!" Kai exclaimed, waving his hands out with added flair. "He's in a very superior class after all! But he's worried about getting alooooong with others and making sure he follows all the rules and he wants to make friends…" Kai spit at the last word. "Fleas is more like it…"

"Superior class?" Sakura whispered to Akita.

"Kai, you know we aren't supposed to reveal our monster forms," Akita warned.

"See that is exactly what I am talking about," Kai said pointedly to Sakura. "No sense of fun at all in revealing the dirty little secret." Kai grinned wickedly at Sakura and took a couple steps toward her again. "What do you say girly? I'll show you mine if you show me yours? Hahaha."

Sakura went beat red again and pushed Kai solidly in the chest. Kai's smile faltered for just a second and his eyes widened in some surprise as he was forced to take a couple of steps back from the force of it.

"Oh! Your girl is strong Akita," Kai laughed, his humorless smile returning. He was now peering at Sakura with much more interest than before, looking her up and down again with less perversion. "Maybe I could guess what you are…"

"Drop it Kai," Akita begged, folding his hands at his brother. Kai looked at Akita's pleading face and rolled his eyes with a huff before putting a hand on his brother's shoulder and giving him a small, inviting smile.

"Loosen up, please!" Kai said, in his own begging voice. His gaze was much warmer for his brother than it had been just a second ago; his voice had also taken on a lighter tone, like he was a concerned brother trying to nicely talk Akita down from having a panic attack. "That rule was specifically made to be broken; people are walking around campus in their monster forms right now! And it's not like you don't want to know Akita, right?" Akita paused, obviously mulling over the thought. "And she doesn't even have to really tell me! I'm just going to guess to see if I can get it right," Kai continued to explain silkily.

"I mean…" Akita muttered, looking nervously from his twin to his shoes. "I guess…. As long as you aren't mean about it… Guessing doesn't really hurt anybody does it?" Akita looked imploringly at Sakura.

The girl's green eyes widened in shock; _why is he suddenly going along with this? _Her accusatory glance at Akita was cut off as Kai stepped in front of her.

"Mmmmm…," Kai pondered thoughtfully, tapping his chin and looking Sakura up and down with his cool gaze. "It is such a mystery; what monster could be lurking under this form?"

"How about you tell me first?"

"No, no, no," Kai grinned, wagging his finger. "I told you I would show you mine _if_ you showed me yours. And since you're being so prissy about it, I got to try and figure it out now…" He resumed his chin tapping and calculating look. Suddenly, he leaned forward and inhaled violently through his nose. "You know brother…she does have the most interesting smell; surely you noticed that in your time around her."

Sakura leaned over to give a confused look to Akita. '_What is this guy talking about?'_ her face said, one eyebrow cocked in quizzical fashion. Strangely enough, Akita didn't look at all thrown off by his twin's mannerisms, instead casting a interested glance at Sakura. She held his gaze for an extra second, making it clear she was not happy with him allowing this questioning to happen, before Kai cut in again.

"But any half-pint can have an interesting smell," he continued, now circling Sakura.

_Why doesn't Akita tell him to back off? _Sakura thought desperately to herself. Her friend just continued to stand in the same place, alternating between toeing the ground and watching the spectacle in front of him with trepidation, with his hands shoved deep in his kaki's pockets. _He knows his brother is making me uncomfortable but he just stands there… _

"You're strong too," Kai commented, giving Sakura a little push from behind. "Stronger than most I've met. But strength doesn't mean much," he said icily, getting nose to nose with Sakura as she jumped in shock. "Being strong doesn't mean you are good enough to hang around me and my brother."

"I never said I wanted to hang around _you!" _Sakura shouted, her hands shaking in indignation. "Now look, there's no reason for you to be such a jerk to me! How about you just leave me alone…"

"Well that'd be absolutely no fun at all," Kai stuck his lip out with a put-out pout. "And besides… As undeserving you are to be in my brother's and my company and as whiny as you may be… You are rather pretty." Kai made another grab at Sakura's skirt, but his hand was slapped away roughly by the girl, her green eyes now burning with fury.

"Don't you dare do that again you….you…you pervert!" the furious schoolgirl fumed. "If you ever try something so disgusting again I'll…I'll call my mother and father down here and…they will show you respect!" Sakura was breathing so hard she could barely form words.

"Respect, huh?"

"You will show some respect to me," Sakura demanded. Kai's eyes shone with new vigor as he grinned.

"You are demanding respect little Miss Sakura? Quite interesting, you holding yourself to such a high standing… You wouldn't be an S-Class would you now?"

With that, Sakura decided she had taken enough from Kai and pushed her way past him. She paused as she came to Akita, but he was unable to meet her accusatory gaze, instead sighing and toeing the ground pointedly with his shoe. The brown haired girl turned away from him with a 'humph' and stalked up the path leading to the dormitories.

Now that Sakura had left, the twins gazed at each other silently on the path, Akita visibly upset and Kai calculating.

"I wish you hadn't done that," Akita finally muttered, the bitterness in his voice not lost on his brother.

"Don't whine Akita, it's unbecoming," Kai responded in a low tone, shifting his gaze to the girl's retreating frame. "Besides, I'm the one who should be upset. We get to this school and you forget all about me…"

"I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to see you yesterday, I was busy and I lost track of time and everything was moving so fast around here," Akita implored understanding. "I hadn't forgotten about you or anything Kai."

"Well good because I thought we had agreed that we were going to have some fun together when we finally got to this rotten academy," Kai said, resting a hand behind his head and leaning against one of the many dead trees dotting the pathway, "and then we get here and you're nowhere to be found… Going and finding conquests all on your own," his lip protruded in a put-out fashion.

"I told you, she's not a conquest Kai!"

"It's perfectly normal Akita, no reason to be ashamed," Kai smirked. "You're in school now with all these wonderful dames, it's bound to happen."

Akita's shoulders slumped in defeat of convincing his twin of anything; however, as Kai sat there, noncommittal and eyes closed, he turned his gaze toward where Sakura had run away too.

"Thinking about going somewhere?" Kai asked.

"I want to go talk to her," Akita sighed, "I need to explain things… Make it better… I like her, she's nice and she's fun to talk to and… I want her to be my friend."

"You don't need to do anything," Kai grunted. "You want to. What a shame… I was thinking we'd get some good brother bonding time and everything…" Akita about faced to his brother, his eyebrows dangerously close to his hairline. "Joking, Akita," Kai rolled his eyes. "Go make friends and skip through the fields or whatever you want to do."

Akita continued to study his brother for a few seconds before turning and running up the dirt path after Sakura.

"Sakura! Sakura, wait up!" Akita yelled, coming up on the girl quickly. Sakura whipped around quickly, having to take a step back in surprise in how quickly Akita had caught up to her, but quickly readopted a fierce glare and folded her arms.

"Shouldn't you be hanging out with your brother," she grumbled, sparing a glance back down the path Akita had just come from.

"Look Sakura, I'm really sorry about that…." Akita began.

"Why didn't you tell him to stop it?" Sakura demanded, tears of frustration welling up in the corner of her eyes. "You just stood there while he made fun of me and harassed me… You didn't do anything!"

"Sakura… I-I'm sorry!" Akita pled, shoving his hands into his pockets with shame. "I don't know why he was like that…. But he's really not that bad once you get to know him, I promise!"

"Once I get to know him!?" demanded Sakura. "He made it very clear he doesn't want to get to know me! He was an outright pig and just… He was the biggest jerk I've ever met!"

"It's how he is, he doesn't mean it though! He just- He worries about me and he's my brother and I guess he misses me and-"

"So you're defending him?" Sakura yelled. "Oh yeah I'm sure he's such a great big brother, I could really tell from his attitude."

"Nobody's perfect…," Akita's face showed his chagrin. "But you're totally right!" he quickly corrected, seeing the fury in Sakura's face rising. "Kai shouldn't have acted like that to you and I'll tell him to be nicer the next time. But I…" he seemed to start having trouble making words come out.

"But you what?" inquired Sakura.

"I really would like to be a good friend to you," Akita finally forced out in a rushed yell. "I have liked talking to you ever since we met and I don't want you to hate me because of how my brother acted. So I apologize for him and myself and I hope you will still be my friend." He finished this with a deep bow to the green eyed girl.

_Can I trust him? _Sakura thought desperately, looking at the back of Akita's head. She knew what her mother would say…

Her cat-like red eyes would flash and she would scorn the very idea. _"Of course not, such disrespect cannot be tolerated. He must know his place." _

"_Demanding respect? You must be an S-Class…" _Akita's twin's sneer cut into her mind and Sakura shook with indignation at the very thought of his snide comments.

_I'm not like that at all _Sakura shouted internally.

"Akita…" Sakura began. His head rose, desperation in his brown eyes. He started in shock as Sakura extended a delicate hand forward with an inviting smile and twinkle in her eyes. "Of course I'll forgive you. It wasn't you who said those terrible things… And you've been a good friend in just the couple days we've been here. I really hope we can be friends for a long time."

Akita smiled in relief and took Sakura's hand with a grin.

"I'd really like that Sakura-san."

"Good," Sakura decided, turning and walking toward the dorm with her reconciled friend. "There's still a lot of the school year to go, it'd be unfortunate to lose out on a good friend so quickly."

"Exactly," Akita agreed. "And maybe… After he apologizes… You can learn to like my brother. I know he is rough around the edges," he added quickly when he saw the look on Sakura's face, "But once he gets used to you he can be a lot of fun." She responded with a noncommittal grunt, the sour look still in place. "He gets easier to deal with!"

The following weeks did nothing to show how things would get easier. Sakura found herself on the receiving end on a number of unfortunate incidents, making introductory phase of Yokai Academy anything but easier.

It started with the window blowing open a couple times a night, causing to Sakura to wake up when a strong breeze came through and blew her sheets. Following that, her shoes would go missing, causing her to be late often and once, making her go the entire day with only one shoe. At first this was only strange, but Sakura became sure these were not chance happenings when Kai approached her.

"This is yours isn't it?" he grinned coolly, holding up a petite brown school shoe. Sakura looked up from massaging her one sock only foot in shock that quickly turned to agitation. "Better keep better track of your things girly," Kai chortled as he flipped the shoe to her and walked away.

Following that was a much more pressing issue; Sakura woke one morning to find her panty drawer raided and completely empty.

"Are you ok, Sakura?" Akita asked, cocking his head quizzically at the strange way Sakura walked to school that day. "You look like something's wrong with your legs."

"I'm fine." Sakura said in a clipped tone. "Don't worry about it."

"Are you-?"

"Forget it, Akita!" Sakura squealed, holding her skirt down as a gust of spring wind blew. Akita was bemused most of the day as Sakura was red faced and breathless the entire school day; as the last class finished up, her relief was apparent as the duo approached the dorms.

"Sakura…what are those?" Akita asked, his face going ruby red as he looked toward the dorms. She looked to what her companion was referring and let out a moan of despair.

"Those are mine!" One of the trees boarding the dormitory was littered with brightly colored panties at varying heights, and Sakura ran over to retrieve them at lightning speed.

"Oh…wow…" Akita muttered, picking up a loose blue-striped one that had blown away from those grouped in the trees.

"Look at that. I've done ten percent of the work you've done since this school year began and I've managed to get you farther along than you had any hope of going." Akita jumped at the sudden voice and glanced over to see his double hovering over his shoulder, a malicious gleam in his eyes. "You got your hands on her panties. Congratulations."

"You did this?" Akita whispered in horror.

"It was fun," Kai admitted. "And don't pretend you don't like it…"

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Makota," Sakura moaned, her head face-down on the chemistry table. It had been a couple days since the panty fiasco, and now her homework had gone missing and Kai had been plenty obvious about picking bits of paper from between his teeth when he was sure Sakura was looking. "I don't know how much of this I can handle."

"Some people are just spiteful," Makota stated, copying his already completed homework on a separate sheet of paper for his distraught partner. "Nothing can be done about them..."

"I have to get Akita to do something," Sakura muttered to herself. "This has gone on long enough… I can't take any more of this!"

She was unable to find the proper time to bring the subject up to Akita the rest of the school day; Akita seemed to be in a chipper mood that Sakura didn't want to bring down, and she was delayed even more as he was asked to stay back and talk to the teacher for a few minutes after class.

_What is the best way to tell someone their brother needs to be taken care of? _Sakura wondered to herself. _Easy! Tell him straight forward that his brother is a perverted pig and needs to be stopped! But I don't want to hurt his feelings because I know he's Akita's family…_

So lost in thought, she was, Akita's voice made Sakura jump in surprise. "Hey, you ready to head back?"

"Yeah, let's get going," Sakura smiled before looking back at the ground thoughtfully again. The duo walked back in silence until about that half way mark, when Sakura decided now was as good a time as ever.

"Akita… I need to talk about you about your brother…," Sakura said slowly.

"Yes I figured you would." Akita's annoyed tone caught Sakura off guard and her head snapped up. He had stopped walking a couple of steps ahead of her, his bag and green jacket were discarded to the side he was currently rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt.

"Kai," growled Sakura, recognizing the tone and gleam in his eye. _Damn twin problems… _

"You must be quite the girl Ms. Akashiya," Kai said, his voice returning to its ever cool tone. "My brother is very smitten with you. It's not like him to commit so much of his time to one person. Unless it's me of course but when you're twins that's just how things go." Kai approached Sakura as he said this, observing the girl like a cat eyeballing a mouse. "What does make you so special?"

"I don't know why you hate me so much Kai-" Sakura began.

"Then I can make it very clear for you," Kai cut in. "You're much too innocent… Too happy…. Too… everything normal people aren't usually."

"That's your big problem with me?" demanded Sakura.

"My brother doesn't need to be influenced by some idealistic, spineless creature," Kai spat. "That's not how you survive in the world, but my brother seemed to miss that lesson where as I get it. He's been born to be higher than that, and your influence will do nothing but stunt his growth."

"Some brother you are!" Sakura yelled, shaking in fury. "If Akita never gets whatever lessons you're talking about he'll be ten times better off! I hope he never turns into someone like you!"

"Well, luckily that isn't your call. You can leave things like that to his family," Kai stated coldly. There was a pause, the only thing breaking the silence being the hum of the wind. "You know we never really got to finish our conversation about monster forms and all that."

Sakura glanced around the deserted forest with trepidation, realizing where this conversation was most likely headed.

"I personally associate my class with the highest of monsters," Kai continued. "A lot of people have their opinion of what kind of monster class is on top, but I tell you I've never been beaten in a fight and have no reason to believe I was born as anything but the superior of races." Kai's body began to twitch, his shoulder popping back and forth and sounds similar to snapping twigs resounded from his body. Hair began sprouting up, and Sakura saw a gleam enter his eye's as brown iris' turned to bright yellow. In what could only have been a blink after that, a full blown, gray haired, six and a half foot tall werewolf towered over Sakura, fangs bared into a smile.

"What… What are you doing?" Sakura demanded hoarsely.

"I'm not completely blind as to why my brother would keep you around," Kai growled as he lowered to his haunches and Sakura's level. "You are very pretty after all. And I think you need a lesson on how the world really works… How the strong are able to take what they want…" He ran a claw from Sakura's shoulder down her arm, ripping the sleeve of the white blouse. Sakura let out a startled scream and backed away from the monster quickly, mind whirling with what would be the best option to escape.

"Kai? What the hell are you doing in monster form?" The voice came from down the path and both Sakura and Kai whipped around to see Akita standing there in shock, his bag forgotten about by his feet. "Kai what are you doing with Sakura?"

"Showing you what can be done Akita," Kai growled in a low voice. "What liberties people like us have don't have to give, Akita. You don't have to play the chivalry game with this girl… You see what you want so take it!"

"Sakura is my friend, Kai," Akita said vehemently, stepping between the two. "You can't do this!"

"You'd step against your own brother than? Your twin?"

"I don't want to Kai, but you're being ridiculous!"

"Don't pretend," Kai replied slyly, clicking his claws with malice. "I see the way you look at her. You have no want for her to simply remain a 'friend'…"

Sakura looked questioningly at Akita, who had tensed up at that, but responded surprisingly firm. "Kai you have to stop this."

"Make me Akita," Kai growled, extending a paw to move his twin aside. It was worthless though, as his hand landed on another gray werewolf, this one sporting the full Yokai uniform.

"Enough is enough, Kai," Akita said. Sakura noted that, even in monster form, the Aconite brothers were a perfect match, the only give away from who was who being Akita's green jacket still on him, though rather snug now.

"Finally things get a little interesting around here," Kai sighed. "Alright little brother, you want to be tough? Let's see how serious you are."

"Kai I don't want to fight-" Akita was cut off as he was pushed roughly aside by Kai and hit a tree trunk solidly.

"Let's see how riled up we can really get him," Kai said softly, grabbing Sakura roughly by both shoulders. Sakura was usually the most passive type of person, much to her mother's puzzlement and father's encouragement, but at that moment she had had enough. With a strangled yell of frustration, she kicked her foot strait up in the air, connecting solidly with Kai's chin and sending him flying out of sight between the rotted trees.

"Holy shit, Sakura?" Akita gasped, stumbling over in wolf form. "How did you…?" He paused, his golden eyes narrowing as he inspected his friend. "Your eyes…. What happened to your eyes?" Sakura tensed and looked away quickly from embarrassment; she knew her eyes must have taken on the distinctive red color that she worked so hard to hide.

"It's…It's what h-happens when I-I go into monster form," she replied hurriedly.

"And you have fangs?"

Sakura covered her moth quickly with a squeak.

"You're a vampire Sakura," Akita stated in wonder. The brown haired girl nodded shyly, unsure of what her friend really thought of that fact. She had been warned a lot about revealing her true form to too many people.

_"You need to be careful, dear," _her father had said, placing a hand tenderly on her shoulder. _"There will be people there who dislike you simply because what you were born as. Vampires are feared and respected, but it's that fear and respect that will cause some to challenge you and attempt to prove they're better than you. Let's just not give them reason to do that, alright?" _Sakura agreed and had never shown her monster form to anyone before now.

"Well yes I am… I can usually just hide it well because vampires aren't really that different from humans so I only have to hid a couple things…. Sakura suddenly lunged at Akita with her hands clasped, "Please don't hate me for what I am Akita… I still want to be friends!" she begged.

"Sakura, I could never hate you for that," Akita said. Even in wolf form, his eyes and smile were kind and Sakura felt her worry melt away and smiled in return. "I want us to be very good friends for a very long time. And I think it's cool that you're a vampire! I've only met a couple of vampire children when I would travel with my parents, and they never really talked much… So I'm really glad I got to know you Sakura."

"Great… A vampire," came a growl from the tree line. Kai had returned, small holes littering his white shirt and a fire burning in his yellow eyes. "Guess I should've known though. Your kind is always cropping up to make trouble it seems; only a matter of time before one of you got on my bad side."

"Kai that's enough, you need to stop this," Akita growled.

"Though probably a good thing I got ahold of you here," Kai continued, ignoring his twin. "I'll make sure to down your spirit here and make sure your pride doesn't get out of control; you will realize the truly strongest race."

"Kai enough!" Akita barked. Again Kai didn't react to his words, moving closer to Sakura as the she tensed up, expecting a fight. "God damn you brother…"

There was a resounding crack and Sakura squeaked in surprise as Kai's head was whipped to the side from the force of Akita's punch.

"You wish to fight for her brother?" Kai hissed, turning his dangerous gaze to his twin. "Fine, I can let you do that. Don't expect me to hold back; it seems even you need to be reminded that we're the strongest race and will be treated as such."

"It's not right what you're doing Kai," Akita said through clenched teeth. "I don't want to fight you but you can't keep treating people like this, especially my friends!" Kai's response was so fast Sakura didn't register it until it was done; he lashed out with his foot, hitting Akita's knee and knocking him off balance, and then followed with a haymaker that spun Akita to the ground a few feet away.

"Akita!" Sakura cried, taking a step forward. Kai was quicker, and he seemed to teleport from his spot in front of her to where his brother was recovering. His follow up downward strike missed, as Akita was by no means slow, and the ground cracked under the force of the blow. Akita jumped at the opportunity, getting behind his brother and striking his lower back with a quick barrage of punches.

Sakura found she was unable to keep up with most of the fight; the two werewolves moved so fast most movement could only be perceived as a flash of gray. Things came to a head when Akita was able to get behind his brother once again, putting all his weight into a strong punch to the ribs of Kai. However, Kai was seemingly able to ignore the blow entirely and struck Akita solidly in his temple with an elbow. Akita dropped to a knee, his eyes glazing over, and Kai took the opportunity to grip him in a vicious choke hold from behind.

"Are you done fighting little brother?" Kai growled as Akita clawed at his brother's arm.

"Kai! Stop it!" Sakura shouted, running forward to help her comrade. She jumped forward and kicked Kai square in the spine with a loud grunt of effort. Kai howled in pain, his hands releasing Akita's neck on instinct, and the twin took the opportunity to spin around and hit Kai's exposed chin with clasped hands, like a baseball player aiming for a homerun. Kai summersaulted along the ground and came to rest at the base of a gravestone littering the pathway, breathing labored.

"Come on, Sakura," panted Akita, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "We should get out of here before he gets up." Sakura nodded in agreement, but was caught off guard when Akita picked her up, his wolf body more than large enough to cradle her as he ran. She had never seen a werewolf in person before, and little justice was done by her mother and father's stories about how fast they were now that she had seen two of them. Even now as Akita ran toward the dormitories, the wind whipped at her face like she had rolled down the window in a car; it was exhilarating and she couldn't hold in a giggle of glee.

They reached the dorms and Akita put Sakura down gingerly. "You aren't hurt are you Sakura?"

"No," she smiled in reply. "You got there before he could do anything… Thank you by the way Akita," Sakura wrapped both her hands around one of his wolf paws. "I know it was hard to do that because he's your brother but… I'm glad you stood up for me…"

Akita slowly began to shrink down until Sakura found herself face to face with her friend again. "I couldn't just stand there anymore could I," Akita grinned, but winced in pain at the motion. There was a nice collection of cuts and bruises dotting his face and a knot was turning a nasty blue color just above his right eye.

"You're really hurt!" Sakura gasped. "Should we go see the nurse?"

"Don't worry about it," Akita smiled at her concern. "It's close to the full moon, so I should be healed up by tomorrow no problem." He laughed at Sakura's less than convinced look. "Your eyes are very pretty by the way…" The girl jumped in shock and averted her eyes, forgetting that she hadn't returned to her normal look. "Both sets of eyes," Akita assured her as red iris' turned to green and Sakura's smile became fangless.

"Thank you, Akita," Sakura breathed, wrapping her friend in a tight hug. Akita winced at first, but decided it worth it and wrapped his arms around her as well. "Now you need to get to your bed and work on resting up. We do still have school tomorrow," Sakura laughed.

Akita nodded and gave a last wave to Sakura retreating frame before letting his shoulders slump in sighing in fatigue.

"Not bad little brother," came low voice from behind Akita. Akita turned around slowly to meet Kai's narrowed eyes as he stood with folded arms. "Looks like you're doing just fine with your little lady."

"How could you do that Kai?" Akita sighed, shaking his head. "I didn't want to fight you, but why did you have to be such a jerk?"

"I felt like it," Kai shrugged. "I needed to. It's the full moon. Who knows brother; all I know is that I was rather impressed by your backbone Akita." He gave a thumbs up. "Nice showing." Akita looked confused as Kai limped past him, rubbing his jaw gingerly. "I just hope you don't forget about your twin now."

"I wouldn't Kai," Akita assured. Kai raised a hand in a non-committal gesture and made his way into the dormitory. Akita paused a few extra seconds, wondering how the days that followed would unfold.


End file.
